Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Man survives three storms in three years

Three times is not a charm for Joe Johnson. The Stafford County farmer is tired of severe weather after getting hit three years in a row. In 2007, the Greensburg tornado destroyed his home south of Macksville. The damage was so extensive he and his wife, Marsha, moved to another house west of Macksville. In 2008, a tornado damaged that home and some of his farm equipment. Then Monday, severe weather destroyed his irrigation pivot and sheered off some of his corn crop."The replacement value of the irrigation pivot is around $85,000 to replace so it's going to be expensive to fix it," said Johnson. "After three years of this, I wish the tornados would go bother someone else."His neighbors joke he should move. But just like the ups and downs of farming, Johnson says he's here to stay. He says he'll weather whatever Mother Nature brings next.